Emily Maguire (born 1976) is an Australian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Early life and education

Maguire was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1976. She grew up in the western suburbs of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in a church-going family, but she now describes herself as an atheist. Maguire married in her early twenties to Jeff Maguire, whom she had known since the age of 14, over the initial objections of her family. She has an MA in literature. She became a professional writer in her mid twenties after working for the

NRMA NRMA (formerly National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel and other services ...

and

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...

Writing

Maguire's articles and essays on sex, religion and culture have been published in newspapers and journals including ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', ''

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

'', ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''. In 2007, the Women's Electoral Lobby awarded her the Edna Ryan Award (Media Category) for her writing about women's issues. Maguir served as

writer in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at the Djerassi Artists Program in

northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

in 2009, as an Asialink Literature Resident in Vietnam in 2008, and as a Tasmanian Writers' Centre resident in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

in 2006. Her first novel, '' Taming the Beast'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

), was nominated for the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

and received a Special Commendation in the

Kathleen Mitchell Award The Kathleen Mitchell Award is a bi-annual Australian literature prize for young authors. It was established in 1996 and is awarded every second year with prize money originally being A$5000, by 2012 that amount had grown to A$ 15,000 and in 2014 i ...

s. The novel aroused controversy for its graphic depiction of a sexual relationship between a young woman and her high school teacher. Her second novel, ''The Gospel According to Luke'' is an account of a relationship between a young

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

pastor and an atheist abortion clinic worker, and deals with the theme of

religious terrorism Religious terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a strategy to achieve certain religious goals or which are influenced by religious beliefs and/or identity. In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the ...

. It was also awarded a special commendation in the 2008 Kathleen Mitchell Awards. Her 2008 non-fiction book, ''Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity'', is an examination of how the treatment of young women as fragile and in need of protection can be just as objectifying and damaging to them as pornography and raunch culture. A revised young adult version called ''Your Skirt's Too Short: Sex, Power, Choice'' was released in 2010. ''Fishing for Tigers'', published in September 2012 by Picador Australia, is Maguire's fourth. Set in present-day Vietnam, it explores issues of exploitation in developing nations – cultural, racial, sexual and economic – placing Australian expats and tourists at the centre of the frame. In May 2013, Emily Maguire was named as one of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' Best Young Australian Novelists. In 2016 her book ''An Isolated Incident'' was published by Picador, Pan MacMillan Press. It was highly commended in the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017; and was short-listed for the 2017 Stella Prize, the 2017 Ned Kelly Awards, the ABIA 2017 Shortlist and the 2017 Miles Franklin literary award. Maguire was awarded the 2018 Charles Perkins Centre Writer in Residence Fellowship, receiving a $100,000 grant.

Bibliography

Fiction

*''Taming the Beast'' (2004) *''The Gospel According to Luke'' (2006) *''Smoke in the Room'' (2009) *''Fishing for Tigers'' (2012) * ''An Isolated Incident'' (2016) *''Love Objects'' (2021)

Non Fiction

*''Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity'' (2008) *''Your Skirt's Too Short: Sex, Power, Choice'' (2010) *''This is What a Feminist Looks Like: The rise and rise of Australian feminism'' (2019)

Contributed chapter

* "Global destroyers", pp. 87–98, in: ''Destroying the joint'', edited by

Jane Caro Catherine Jane Caro (born 24 June 1957) is a feminist social commentator, writer and lecturer based in Australia. Early life and education Caro was born in London in 1957 and emigrated to Australia with her parents as a five-year-old in 1963. ...

, Read How You Want (2015, ).

References

External links

Emily Maguire's Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Emily 1976 births 21st-century Australian novelists Australian atheists Australian feminist writers Australian journalists Australian women novelists Living people Writers from Sydney Writers from Canberra 21st-century Australian women writers